Printers - Consumables

HP announcement the shipment of the 200 millionth HP LaserJet printer-- an event the company describes as "an unprecedented milestone" for the nearly 30 year old brand.

In celebration HP will show off limited-edition commemorative LaserJet printers at Customer Experience Centres around the world, including Barcelona, Bejing, Mexico City and Palo Alto.

It also launches the "200 Million and Counting" customer sweepstakes. Customers can share LaserJet-related testimonials on a special site, before HP chooses a winning testimonial from each worldwide region 24 December 2013. The prize? A limited-edition LaserJet MFP.

The idea of 3D printers (3DPs) as a growth market might sound far fetched, but not according to Gartner-- the analyst predicts 2013 global enterprise and consumer sub-$100000 3DP shipments are to grow by 49% to 56507 units.

Shipments will only increase further in 2014 (98065 units with 75% growth) and 2015 ("near doubling of unti shipments"), while end-user spending is to reach $412 million with 43% growth in 2013, up from $325m in 2012, before growing by 62% to $669m in 2014.

"The 3DP market has reached its inflection point," Gartner claims. "While still a nascent market, with hype outpacing the technical realities, the speed of development and rise in buyer interest are pressing hardware, software and service providers to offer easier-to-use tools and materials that produce consistently high-quality results."

According to IDC 2012 EMEA page volume generated on home and office digital hardcopy devices is down by -2.3% to 2 million pages. W. Europe and CEE see declines of -3.1% and -3.2% respectively, while MEA is the only sub-region posting growth.

W. Europe accounts for over 63% of EMEA total page volume.

On a global scale 2012 page volume is down from 3.03 trillion in 2011 to 2.98tr, a -1.5% decline caused by a reduction in pages printed on laser devices in developed economies.

The Samsung IFA 2013 stand features more than just smartphones and smartwatches-- the company also shows off a trio of curious printer design concepts, the "Wave," "Indie" and "One & One."

Then again the company does want to accelerate its "leadership in mobile printing," so perhaps its consideration of outlandish ideas ("what if a printer could double as a speaker?") comes as less of a surprise, seeing how Samsung printers already carry functionality of the app, Wifi Direct, Google Cloud Print and NFC variety...

The first Samsung concept printer we will look at is the Wave. It features a "minimal, organic design," doubles as a smartphone dock and prints saved material directly from the docked device.

Japanese designer Mugi Yamamoto has an interesting idea bringing back interest in the tired world of printers-- the Stack, a compact inkjet printer that "eats" its way down a stack of paper.

The concept eliminates the paper tray, the bulkiest element in most printers, and allows for a simplified, compact design the size of an A3 sheet of paper. It is also admittedly attractive, something we never imagined saying in reference to a printer!

Currently available in working prototype form, the Stack consists of a lightweight aluminium structure holding together components cannibalised from from various mobile printers. Rubber wheels regulate paper flow, pulling paper through the machine and allowing it to make its way down the stack.

Lexmark continues its shift from hardware- to solutions-centric company as it sells off its inkjet-related technology and assets to long-time partner Funai Electric for around $100 million.

Through the deal Funai acquires over 1500 inkjet patents, Lexmark R&D assets and tools, all outstanding shares, a Philippines manufacturing facility and other inkjet-related technologies, allowing the Japanese CE vendor to make own-branded inkjet hardware and supplies.

Stare for long enough into the abyss and the abyss will stare back at you, Nietzsche said. Or, in the case of CES 2013, you will get a look from the maddest things at the show-- such as the Tat'z Nail'z nail inkjet printer.

The name says it all, really. The oddly named device first takes a photo before printing it on your fingernails. The process is surprisingly quick (around 10 seconds) and soon enough you too can have a photo-quality image of your own face on a fingernail or two.

Canon rolls out a set of printing and scanning solutions for the holiday season-- the Pixma MG6320 and MG5420 All-in-Ones (AIO), the Pixma iP7220 printer and the CanoScan 9000F Mark II scanner.

The MG6320 and MG5420 have a sleek and compact design, with a low-height body and a redesigned paper casette allowing the printer to sit flush against a wall. The MG6320 carries a 3.5-inch touchscreen, while the MG5420 has a similar 3-inch display, and both have built-in wireless printing capabilities allowing Continue reading...

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